Trai extends deadline for net neutrality

“In addition to being against Net neutrality, the differential pricing models suggested by TRAI prima facie also violate the regulator’s own stated principles of intervening in pricing”, Subho Ray, President of IAMAI, said on Wednesday.

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India has extended the last date of receipt of written comments on its differential pricing for data services by a week, the regulator said in a statement.

The regulator will come out with counter-comments by January 14.

TRAI had issued a new consultation paper last week on differential pricing for data services to all stakeholders for comments and the deadline it set for recommendations and comments by December 30.

“The net result of these offers is that it empowers/ enables the TSPs (telecom service providers) to select certain content providers, either through the platforms or directly, and offer discounted access plans to these websites/applications/platforms”, Trai paper said. Internet activists and experts flayed the operator for “Airtel Zero” service along with Facebook’s Internet.org service, rechristened as Free Basics in September. Most of the models suggested by TRAI seem to violate one or all of these principles, ” Ray added.

It said that the Internet should have equal access to all the content or applications at an equal rate to consumers and free Internet should be on the basis of free data not free specific content.

The third is in which operators charge differently for certain types of internet apps over others.

Some 40 members from IIT Delhi and IIT Khargapur and the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, joined net neutrality debate by signing petition against Facebook’s Free Basics on Wednesday.

According to sources, TRAI has received around 16.5 lakh comments till date, and comments received through Facebook or “Free Basics” platform are around 8 lakh. This was in response to a consultation paper released by telecom regulator Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI).

However, NGO Telecom Watchdog has favoured Free Basics kind of projects saying that “any proposal that offers free services to general public including the one being offered by Facebook under the brand “Free Basics” should not be rejected.